Work Text:
"Can you believe we have no school tomorrow?" Gia Moran leaned over her frozen yogurt at Ernie's Brainfreeze.
Emma Goodall dipped into her yogurt, grinning. "The entire day is free. No homework either."
"Do you have any plans?" Gia asked.
Emma shook her head, "Not a single one. You?"
"I could do with some girl time," Gia admitted. "The last few aliens have pushed the team pretty hard, but Rangers can't train all the time."
"Says the girl that studied nonstop last semester," Emma said.
"That's different," Gia said. "I wanted to be sure to get into the best classes this year."
"So what do you want to do?" Emma asked. "Catch a movie?" But neither sounded too enthusiastic about their choices.
"How about this?" Gia suggested. "Why don't we both come up some ideas for tomorrow? We can each do something we want."
"Sounds like a plan," Emma agreed.
###
The weather was not all what either had hoped for when they'd eagerly drawn up their plans. Instead of the bright sunshine that had mocked them during classes all week, the skies were gloomy and overcast and threatened rain all day.
"There goes my first idea," Gia said aloud.
"Or mine," Emma admitted.
"So why don’t we try something else?" Gia said. "You first."
"You sure?" Emma asked. "Did you bring your gym clothes with you?"
Gia frowned. "I thought we agreed no training today, but yes I brought them, why?"
But Emma led her past the gym to a nondescript building down the block. The sign outside looked composed completely of rocks.
When Gia finally read the sign, she brightened. "Oh this place!"
“You’ve been here before?” Emma was crestfallen.
“No, but I’ve heard about it, but I've never had a chance to go,” Gia said. “You want to take me wall climbing?”
Emma said, “You were telling me all about your vacation last summer when you learned how to climb. Since we couldn’t go to the mountains, I figured I could bring the rocks to you. Are you game?”
“Are you kidding?” Gia said. “This is going to be a blast!”
###
After the two of them changed clothes, they were fitted for their climbing shoes and helmets. Both listened patiently on the instructor's explanations on how the protective harnesses worked, while conscious of other groups eagerly climbing away. Gia's climbing had been on foot, so her eyes narrowed with concentration, like she was back in the classroom. Emma had learned to appreciate being airborne in her phoenix mode, but she wasn't as surefooted as Gia.
The group started on the beginner wall. Each student had a different approach to climbing. Some stuck to the hand and foot holds, while others were adventurous and trusted the climbing shoes to grab the smaller crevices. Gia discovered there was a rhythm to climbing. Emma took a more deliberate approach up the wall. Each trip up and down the two grew more confident, until Emma nearly passed Gia up on the last trip.
“That was amazing,” Gia said. The two had finished the class on an adrenaline high and were catching a quick snack in the plaza. “We should do that again sometime. I was talking to the instructors and once we certify, we can try some of the tougher walls.”
“Or you can take me up to the mountains,” Emma suggested.
“It’s funny you say that,” Gia said, “I found a great spot the other day I wanted to show you on the coast. The views are spectacular. You can almost see clear down to Gosei’s cliff from there. But the weather is so overcast today. ” She leaned in to hug her best friend. “You always seem to know what I need.”
Emma asked, “So what do you have in store for me instead? If you think I’m letting you off the hook…”
“All right, all right,” Gia said. “Follow me.”
###
Gia led her friend across the plaza to the museum. Emma was surprised by her choice. When she'd specified "girl time", Emma had expected Gia to avoid anything that smacked of school or Ranger training.
“I know you prefer to look at nature in the wild,” Gia explained, “but I saw an article about the new collection of nature artwork they just acquired.”
“I heard about that collection,” Emma said. Then she paused to examine a banner outside. “Oh, the new Asian art wing has opened too. We should check that out afterwards.”
The nature exhibit turned out to be a series of small collections. While Emma admired the watercolors and sketches of birds and butterflies, Gia found herself drawn to the more realistic paintings of the larger animals, but no tigers. She had to be content with a painting of a playful lion cub and his mother.
Emma grinned. "I wanted to take you to the zoo. The great cats have added a new tiger. But I didn't think the animals would be outside today."
"It would be neat to see a tiger in action," Gia admitted. "I've seen the videos online, it's not the same thing as seeing the real deal."
"At least you can see yours," Emma reminded her. "Not many phoenixes running around."
Sharing a knowing laugh, the two girls joined the line for the new Asian wing, admiring the elaborate textiles and delicately carved woodcuts. Gia and Emma stopped to stare at a portrait of Chinese empress with her hands joined before her, sitting on a chair shaped like a phoenix.
Then Emma pointed to a woodblock print hanging opposite to the portrait. An immense striped cat sat waiting in the grasses, immense and proud and regal. "Isn't that?"
Gia grinned. "A tiger."